Coming Home To You
by yunotsuki
Summary: Yamanaka Ino, a teacher and caregiver in Futaba Hoikuen, a private nursery school in Kiri, is intrigued by her favorite student, Haruno Sarada. The adorable little girl has caught her attention with her pretty face and sweet behavior, but what if she finds an unexpected story surrounding her background? (AU. SS told from Ino's POV. Full summary inside.)
1. Chapter 1

_**Full summary: **Yamanaka Ino, a teacher and caregiver in Futaba Hoikuen, a private nursery school in Kiri, is intrigued by her favorite student, Haruno Sarada. The adorable little girl has caught her attention with her pretty face and sweet behavior, but what if she finds an unexpected story surrounding her background?_

_Meanwhile, Ino has always been proud to call herself a hardcore fangirl of the current most popular boyband in their country, The Falcons. However, never once in her life did she ever expect that she would personally get involved with the boyband, led by Uchiha Sasuke, themselves, so is this like a dream comes true for her?_

_Or instead the start of something big that will happen with her as the trigger?_

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**Disclaimer:** NARUTO and its characters belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. I also don't own any real life brands mentioned in the story.  
**Warning:** Mention of something that could be triggering for some people. Not everything I write here reflects my point of view in real life.

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As usual, that girl is always the last one to be picked up.

I sigh, feeling sorry for her. Under the reddening sky, she plays with the sand alone in the yard. The children in this _hoikuen_ have all been picked up by their family members, except for this little one.

"Sarada, still not going home yet?" I ask gently. I squat down next to Sarada—that girl's name—and watch her busily filling up a rabbit-shaped cup with sands.

"No, Ino-_sensei_. Mama is not here yet," she answers, without once taking her attention away from the sand-filled cup in her tiny hands.

Haruno Sarada is one of the students coming to Futaba Hoikuen as of this April. She is still three years old, but I think she is a very talented child. Her vocabularies and the way she speaks are way beyond the average children her age. So far, my impression of her is that she is a pretty nice and obedient child, although is also a little bit too quiet in class, but perhaps that's more because she hasn't got used to her classmates yet.

"It's about to get dark soon so I think it's better for you to play inside rather than outside. How about if we play _origami_ together? I will show you how to make a bird _origami_ if you want."

She looks at me and gives me a wide smile. "Yes, I want to do that please."

This girl is reaaally cute, I just can't… I mean I feel like I could last a day just by pinching those chubby cheeks of hers, but then again if I actually did that she would cry and then I would end up getting scolded by Kurenai-_sensei_, the _hoikuen_'s principal. But for real though, Sarada is a total cutie. With her shoulder-length ebony hair, dark eyes, and reddened cheeks, I think she will definitely grow up to be a beautiful teenager who is popular with the boys—like how I was back in the day _lol_.

After we wash our hands, I take her hand and lead her to a classroom. I prepare the colored papers that we are going to use for origami on top of the table before showing her how to make a bird shape from a piece of a paper. Seeing her struggle with her own origami—to the point that some slight wrinkles are forming on her forehead—is really adorable.

I can say that Sarada is my most favorite student here—even though she's been attending this _hoikuen_ only for two weeks. I know I shouldn't actually be playing favorites as a teacher, but it can't be helped; this child has caught my eye even from the beginning.

Not only her sweet face and behavior that stand out, but it's also the fact that Sarada is always the last one to be picked up by her family and go home. Basically, the _hoikuen_ or nursery school is a facility offering day care and education for young children up to 5 years old whose parents are busy with work or other activities for the day. Therefore, the normal time for the parents to come get their children is after the normal working hours end or around 5 to 6 PM.

However, in Sarada's case, it is quite different. Her mother can only pick her up at around 7 PM at the latest when the sky has become completely dark, and even until this day I still remember that one time when she came a bit later than usual.

Due to that, Sarada has always been the last child left after the _hoikuen_'s working hours end.

Tenten-_sensei_, one of the caregivers here, and I are usually the ones accompanying Sarada until her mother came picking her up. As far as I know, her mother is a medical student. I know that because I have talked with her for a brief moment after she came a bit later than usual. I also think she's around my age, judging by her appearance only, perhaps around 20 or 21 years old.

Well, to be honest, I didn't know that university students can be that busy to the point that they come home late in a daily basis. I never attend one after all. After graduating from high school, I chose to work and immediately become part of society when normally high school graduates will continue to university. I did several part-time jobs until I took a chance part-timing in this _hoikuen_ and after two years in, I was finally appointed as a full-time staff.

And after a few years working in this field, this is the first time I encounter a situation as unique as Sarada and her mother. Honestly speaking, it's not only because how sweet the former is, and not only because of how the latter is still a student yet always comes home late in the evening.

…but also—

"Sarada, your Mama is finally here to pick you up!" Tenten-_sensei_'s voice was heard, interrupting my train of thoughts and distracting Sarada from the bird _origami_s she's been folding for the last fifteen minutes—she learns very quickly by the way.

"Mama!" Sarada shouts, looking excited. She then looks at her origami before directing her dark eyes towards me. "Ino-_sensei_, can I bring my origami with me? Oh, and some colored papers too?"

"You want to show them to your Mama?" I asked and she nods. "If that's the case then of course you can! What colors do you want?"

"Red, pink, and purple!"

Sarada is truly adorable I'm telling you.

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**Coming Home To You**

by Yuno Tootsuki

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**Chapter 1**

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"You know what, if I'm lucky enough to have children, I want to have one like Sarada," I say randomly and position my back on the sofa more comfortably.

"Before you have children, you should find a husband first."

My eyebrows furrow at that, and then I throw a pillow at the source of the voice—which is none other than Temari, my best friend, of course. Temari is Shikamaru's wife and Shikamaru is my childhood friend as well as my neighbor. After he graduated from the police academy, he basically becomes so busy even in the weekends. So, Temari and their two-year-old son, Shikadai, often visit my apartment whenever Shikamaru is at work.

And usually during Shikadai's nap time, Temari and I would just relax in the living room and chat while reading magazines or watching television at the same time. Bluntly speaking, both of us actually belong to the stubborn and headstrong type of women, and often times we would find ourselves on the opposite ends during an argument, yet somehow, she's never failed becoming my comfort zone to basically talk about everything with.

Precisely because of the differences in our way of seeing things, I often confide and ask for her opinion. She knows a lot about me—like for instance my favorite food, the lipstick brand I use, and even my love story from elementary school until now. She would often tease me who's currently single, and sometimes she likes to match-making me with her youngest brother just because we're at the same age—Temari is the most annoying when she's like that and besides I know that Gaara, her brother, already has his own long-time girlfriend back in their hometown.

My point is, it's no longer a strange occurrence that she would tease me again at this exact moment and, although I probably look like I'm angry from the outside—especially after throwing that poor pillow at her, she knows that not even a single strand of my hair is angry at or even offended by her words.

Instead, she would throw the pillow back at me calmly and continue reading the magazine as if nothing has ever happened in the first place. And she does exactly just that.

"Don't try having a child before a husband, Ino." Temari continues to comment. Well, as you can see, she's rather a conservative one at that.

"Yeah, I know," I say as a response, hugging the pillow close to my chest, "you know I've always been careful even with all my exes. So chill woman."

She nods and we go into a comfortable silent after that. I switch the television channels one by one, looking for any interesting broadcasts, but I can only find news and more boring news. So disappointing. However, it is at that precise moment when something suddenly comes across my mind.

"Speaking of children out of wedlock," I start, "I think that could be the right thing to describe Sarada."

"Hm, what do you mean?"

"I've told you before that Sarada's mother is a single mom, haven't I? And so, adding to that, I think she's never been married before either."

"You asked her that in person?"

"No, I didn't. I mean you just can't ask something as personal as that to someone you barely know, and on top of that she's also the parent of my student. If she's personally offended then I could as well be fired and my career would end," I sneer.

"It's instinct." I continue. "A woman's instinct to be precise."

"Since when your instincts are ever right, huh? And I don't think it's morally right to just assume something you have no idea about. Especially, just like what you've said, about a person you barely know."

"But I don't just randomly assume things out of nowhere, Temari. It's just that yesterday I found something really odd about Sarada." I try to recall what happened when the kids were taking a nap yesterday. "At that time, I was looking through the students' personal data to find an emergency number of a kid who fell down on the stairs, and in the middle of it I accidentally looked through Sarada's and guess what I found?"

Temari turns her full attention at me. It seems like she's become interested in this topic. "No idea. What?"

"The column regarding her father is completely empty. There's absolutely nothing written there. Not even his name," I reply, the images of Sarada's data still lingering in my mind. "I can't help but think that the reason why there's no data about the father perhaps is because he doesn't want to be responsible? And if he really doesn't, then how the heck could there be a possibility of them being married?"

"You have a point there," Temari responds, stroking her chin. "But what if rather than because he doesn't want to be responsible, instead it's simply because he isn't even aware that he has a daughter in the first place?"

"You mean Sarada's mom hides her from her own father?" I shout in bewilderment. "Oh my God, this is like something that comes out of those soapy teenage dramas!"

"Well, it's just one out of many possibilities."

"But then why do you think Haruno-_san_ hides Sarada from her father? If it's about differences in financial status, judging from their appearances, Sarada and Haruno-_san_ definitely come from a family with wealth. Or perhaps…"

"Perhaps?"

"Sarada is the result of… rape…?"

We pause for a moment.

"Don't say such things, Ino! It's impossible right!"

"It's not a good scenario… but there's still a possibility. God forbids but if I were in a position like that, I would never want to have something to do with the person who did it to me anymore, let alone demand a form of responsibility out of him."

"Still…" Temari sighs and massages her forehead softly, "…we'd better stop this conversation because I feel like it's getting a little bit out of hand here, not to mention we are merely assuming things without any solid evidences."

"As expected from the wife of a police officer, huh, because you're starting to talk like your husband," I chuckle. "But you're right. Not that I know much about rape victims, but I don't think Haruno-_san_ could be one of them. I mean, I don't know… I imagine it's such a very traumatic event and I don't think they can just make a full recover quickly, whereas Haruno-_san_ seems like a cheerful person walking on a very bright future, I mean she's even a medical student—a very busy one at that. Not to mention since Sarada is a clever child, perhaps she gets it from her mom."

"Well, you don't know how someone actually is behind what they show on the outside. But still it's not a good idea to assume something like that about someone you don't know on a personal level."

"Yeah, I got it and besides there could be many possibilities beyond that on why Sarada's father isn't included in the data." I ruffle my blonde hair. "Ah… I'm so curious right now! I think it's better to ask the person directly, but before that I need to be close friends with her first so that she can find it comfortable to share the story with me."

"You never change at all. Always easily get curious about all the things that caught your attention."

I stuck my tongue at Temari. How dare she said that about me but… I admit she is kind of right. Back when Shikamaru and her were still mere friends, I bribed him with treats just so that he would tell me who the heck was the girl he was interested in.

Social media used to be not so booming back in the day, and it was rather difficult to find out things about someone, but now is different.

Like maybe I can find out more about Haruno-_san_ if I can just find any social medias she's using. I mean, I don't expect much but it's still better than nothing, right? Moreover, I find it rather impossible for young women like her in this day and age not to have one.

So then I proceed to grab my _iPhone_ and open my _Instagram_ account. I was about to use the search feature when the first post I see on the screen catches my interest.

"Wait whaaat! This is so cool!" I shriek. "Hey, Temari, would you look at this! Sasuke The Falcons is announced as the main cast of the upcoming movie, _Coming Home To You_. His official account just posted about it in like… several minutes ago."

I give my phone to Temari and she takes it, staring at it in silence for a moment, perhaps reading through the caption.

"You're right. How cool he is. I mean, The Falcons has only just made their first debut about two years ago, don't they? And now the leader is about to make his first big screen debut!" She pauses for a moment. "But can he actually act though?"

"I don't know but his acting in the ads featuring The Falcons is good enough, I guess? But one thing I know for certain is that compared to the other members, he is indeed the most demanded from fans. Like for instance, the tickets for his fan-meetings were always instantly sold out. I guess it's just natural if he's popular enough to make a big screen debut," I said while taking back my phone from Temari. "But, if it's about The Falcons, no matter what I still stan Sai the most."

The Falcons is a boyband from Konoha, a metropolitan city in the neighboring island from our city, Kiri. They are like currently the most popular out of any idol groups in our country. There are five members within the group; Hyuuga Neji, Inuzuka Kiba, Shimura Sai, Hozuki Suigetsu, and their leader, Uchiha Sasuke. Since their first debut under HEBI Entertainment Agency about two years ago, their popularity has skyrocketed, especially after their second single, Girls Like You, was released and stayed for weeks at number one in Konoha Radio Chart.

I can say I'm one of many of their hardcore fangirls. I follow all the members, but I'm actually more of a fan of Shimura Sai. I have like a large collection of his merchandises and been to Sai's fanmeet events twice—that's just how much I stan him to be honest. Even so, I have to admit that their leader, Uchiha Sasuke, is indeed the most talented with the biggest fanbase out of all members in The Falcons.

After all, big screen debut is not something your usual idol can achieve in such a short amount of time, right?

"Coming Home To You… if I'm not mistaken, Uzumaki Karin also got a role in that movie, didn't she?" Temari asked suddenly.

"Oh, the young actress? Yeah, I think it was announced around last week, why?"

"There is this article in the magazine I'm reading…" She turns the page towards me. "It's written here that she's currently rumored to have a close relationship with Sasuke The Falcons. The paparazzi kinda got a picture of Karin having a private dinner with a man in a French restaurant yesterday and to be honest it's not clear who the man was based on the picture alone. But with that unique hairstyle, it's kinda impossible not to recognize who. He's definitely Sasuke The Falcons, of course."

Sasuke The Falcons does have a rather unique hairstyle. "Hm, I do think that's indeed actually him."

"If it turns out that Sasuke is also selected for the movie, isn't it possible that their closeness is just a stunt for promotion?" Temari said again. She loves celebrity gossips so much I swear she's now enjoying this. "Or are they genuinely close with each other?"

I shrug. "I don't know. I don't know much about him after all. It's different when it comes to Sai though. Ask me anything about him and I guarantee you I will know the answer," I say grinning, feeling proud.

Temari shakes her face. "You sound exactly like a stalker. Might as well you go date him, or even better what about you marrying him and having his baby? Who knows if your child could just be even more adorable than Sarada, your favorite in the _hoikuen_."

"Haha, even in dreams, I don't think it would ever happen." I nudge Temari's arm playfully.

"It could be possible, right? No one knows what is going to happen in the future after all."

Whether Temari suddenly has a special power or what, but that night I dream about going out with Sai The Falcons and eventually marrying him. I almost think it was real, until I realize that my child with Sai was actually Sarada and that's exactly the moment I wake up from my sleep.

With a red face, of course.

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**To be continued**

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A/N: First, this story will all be told from Ino's POV, the outsider. Please enjoy it. Second, to be honest I know next to nothing about group idols, so please bear with me if you find anything regarding it not how it's supposed to be in the real life. And last, English is not my native language so I would appreciate it if you would tell and correct my mistakes when you find any.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **NARUTO and its characters belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. I also don't own any real life brands mentioned in the story.

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**Coming Home To You**

by Yuno Tootsuki

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**Chapter 2**

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Taking care of the children in the _hoikuen_ is literally exhausting, especially of those three-year-olds whose curiosity has begun to form. Questions such as 'what is this?' and 'what is that?' are no longer a stranger to my ears and of course it means I must prepare the answers they can easily understand.

At first it was difficult, but after a few years in—and with the suggestion from the more experienced _sensei_s here—I have made a list of questions that can potentially be asked by children aged three to five, along with the best answers. Ever since then, my list has continued to grow, mostly due to their wild imagination to come up with questions I have never thought of before.

Therefore, I shouldn't have been surprised whenever such questions come to me—questions that had me thinking hard on how to answer (or if there is even an answer to begin with). But still, every time they do that, I can't help being awkward.

And maybe because I made quite a blunder this time, it feels even more awkward than ever.

After _osanpo _(walking around) with the children around the neighborhood this morning as usual, we go straight to classroom activities. Usually a morning class for the group of three-year-olds, called Kuma (bear) class, is held with simple art and craft activities, such as making shapes using play-doh, singing, or drawing.

Today, I've decided to do morning class with drawing activities. The theme I gave to the children to draw about is 'family'. I explained earlier what 'family' is and asked them to draw every family member in their home, including pets if they have one.

And this is where I do the blunder I mentioned before.

"If you have no father or no mother, it's okay. You don't need to draw them," I said—and this is after I explained before that a typical family consists of a father, a mother, and their children.

"Ino-_sensei_, what do you mean by have no father or have no mother?" The first attack comes from a girl named Akimichi Chouchou, the only daughter of my former high school classmate, Akimichi Chouji. Quite different from the rest of the children, her parents have specifically made a request to _hoikuen_ staff to double her portion for lunch. She inherits her eating habit from her father for sure.

I pause for a moment. My mind is struggling to find an answer they can easily understand and accept.

"I mean there's no father or mother living at home," I end up giving a vague answer my mind could come up with at that moment. Of course, I can't talk about the concept of 'divorce' and 'death' yet. I don't want to give them nightmares nor do I want to be fired due to the complains from the parents about me teaching inappropriate things to their young children.

"Why they aren't home? Where they go?" The second attack comes from Uzumaki Boruto, your most active yet naughty and stubborn child of the Kuma class.

Boruto and his family moved from Konoha to Kiri last year because of his father's job transfer to Kiri's government office. But according to Uzumaki Naruto, his father who comes every day to deliver and pick up his son, they probably will have to move back to Konoha this fall because he's here just for a training. If that's the case, then why is Boruto sent here even though he's going to attend this _hoikuen_ for only half a year? I asked him that and he answered that it's because his wife is currently heavily pregnant with their second child and she's having quite a hard time taking care of Boruto alone when he's not at home.

Not many know about this—maybe only a few hardcore fans like me—but Boruto is actually the nephew of Hyuuga Neji, a member of The Falcons. Boruto's mother is Neji's cousin—I immediately looked up for information on the internet after I saw Uzumaki-_san_'s wife for the first time during the _hoikuen_'s entrance ceremony. Their facial features just look so similar, especially around the eyes, and turns out that the familial connection between them is true after I confirmed to Uzumaki-_san_ myself.

If Sarada is my favorite in the _hoikuen_, then Boruto… not so much. I gently massage my forehead thinking of an answer to his question.

"Your father is currently working right, Boruto? Well, what if your father works far away so that he can't come home? That's one of them. However, there are also several children who just don't have a father or a mother, just like there are children who don't have older siblings and those who have. Every family is different."

"But all children must have a father and a mother at home, just like I also have my dad and my mom! And _Sensei_ also said before that family is a father, mother, and their children, right? _Sensei_ is weird!"

_Ugh, _blunder.

I look at Tenten desperately, asking for help. Tenten is a part-time teacher and caregiver who is appointed to be my assistant in taking care of the Kuma class. She smiled sympathetically at me before taking the children's attention away by teaching them how to draw pets.

Fortunately, three-year-olds are also easily distracted. I bet if they were a few years older, they might still be demanding an answer out of me until they were satisfied. Thank goodness.

I sigh with relief after successfully avoiding one of the hardships in my life (lol). Unable to resist, my eyes shifted to Sarada who's now paying her full attention to Tenten-_sensei_ drawing a cat on the blackboard.

It's not without a reason I made that blunder with the children. At that time, I remembered Sarada who doesn't have a father, or rather how a father is not listed at all in her personal data.

I don't know whether Sarada is aware of the absence of a father in her life or not, but I merely just don't want to risk making things difficult for her. As I thought, I do indeed play favorites when it comes to her—definitely not a good direction for my career in the near future.

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"_Otsukaresama _(thanks for your hardwork), Ino-_sensei_!" Tenten exclaims lightly, breaking my thoughts. "The children are all now taking a nap, so we can finally relax until they wake up later before the afternoon class."

"_Otsukaresama_. Yep, today isn't over yet, there's still less than half a day left," I reply with a smile. Then I stretch my sore back and my two arms, feeling tired more than usual, mostly because of the incident that happened this morning. "Ah, yeah, I almost forgot to thank you for your help this morning."

"It's nothing. If I were in your position, I would find it difficult as well," she responds with a smile and a pat on my shoulder. Somehow I feel like I'm being pitied. I can only chuckle bitterly at that.

"By the way," Tenten continues, "these are the drawings that the children did this morning, should I hang them in the gallery now or what?"

"Let me do it. You can go rest first."

I take the pile of drawings from Tenten's hands and then walk towards the gallery room. The children's works, be it drawings or other handicrafts, are usually displayed in the _hoikuen_'s gallery for a week so parents can see what their children are doing each week. Parents can also submit a request to bring home their own child's work after the display is over if they wish.

I can't help laughing a little while hanging the children's drawings one by one in the gallery. I remember there is this famous artist who said that if you want to learn how to draw, you go learn from the children. If you ask why, then it's because their imaginations are still so wild, unrestrained by the boundary of logic gradually formed when you grow up. At this exact moment, I feel like I can finally understand what the artist meant. I gave the children a specific theme of 'family' to draw about but they drew it in various shapes and colors.

I mean, take a look at Chouchou's drawing for example—I don't understand whether she tried to draw her father or… a donut? In my mind, I can't help imagining Chouji as a literal walking donut and I become unable to stop my laughter. Oh my God.

And now what is this? It seems like Boruto drew his father like… huh, what? I don't understand why there are somewhat of huge tails behind the figure of his father and I count there are like nine of them. Does Boruto think of his father as a nine-tailed monster or what? I have no idea honestly—but whatever it is, Boruto draws pretty good for a three-year-old. This kid has a talent in drawing. He also drew his mother with an obvious enlarged belly. It seems like he's already aware that he's going to have a brother or a sister soon.

Apart from that, Boruto also drew two giant shaped frogs… does the Uzumaki family keep frogs in their house? What an odd choice of pets—and why are they so big?

The next picture, as well as the last picture I'm displaying, makes me pause for a moment after I realize who this drawing belongs to—the name 'Haruno Sarada' is imprinted on the right corner of the paper. Before I have repeatedly mentioned that Sarada is a talented child, but it seems like drawing is not what she's good at.

To be honest, I don't really understand what she has drawn.

The drawing is crowded—lots of colorful lines and obscure shapes filled almost the entire surface of the paper and I don't even understand what they are. Are these supposed to be flowers? Then what is this box-shaped thing?

However, what caught my attention the most is the three figures—one small and two big human-like figures in the middle.

I shake my head once I realize that my mind is suddenly filled with various thoughts. I must not assume things, as Temari once said. Perhaps later I should ask Sarada who these figures are.

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One of the duties for the head teachers who have specific class assigned for them is writing weekly reports for the parents. The content of the report is quite simple; as a teacher and caregiver, I only need to write down what the children have done during the past week, some comments on the children's development, and a suggestion for parents. As a response, parents also need to provide a feedback for the _hoikuen_, which contains any of their children's developments at home, as well as comments and suggestions for the teachers.

Writing reports for all eight children in the Kuma class is not an easy thing I'm telling you, because it's like you need to review the children's daily activity log, sort out what to write, and give specific comments for each child.

Since I'm not in the mood to finish everything at _hoikuen_ until late, I've decided to bring my work home. So, now here I am, still struggling in front of my laptop, typing the children reports I need to upload before the day ends.

Fortunately, Futaba Hoikuen has adapted to the development of technology so that the children weekly reports are all done in digital format. It is quite an effective and efficient method considering 95% of the parents are workers (there are small number of students), so they certainly don't have much free time besides working and taking care of their family at home. So, I just need to upload the report and in an instant the parents will receive it straight to their mobile devices.

"Still not finished yet, Ino?" Temari asks.

"Not yet. Just two more children left," I reply, still focusing on my laptop's screen.

"Oh, good luck then. By the way, can I turn on the TV? You're the type who can still work despite the noise from the TV, aren't you?"

I nod. I don't care either way.

I keep typing to finish my work while Temari calmly watches the television. Shikadai seems to be sleeping in the guest room. Maybe. I don't know. And around thirty minutes later, I finally manage to finish everything. I close my laptop and then put my forehead on the table. I sigh deeply.

"What's with you?" I hear Temari asks.

"I think I'm going to be fired… I'm so unprofessional I can't believe it…"

"Huh? Why? What happened?" Temari asks again.

I ignore Temari and just quietly lean my face against the folds of my arms. I can literally feel my heart pounding slightly faster than usual. I'm really surprised of myself; how can I feel nervous just now? It's already too late for that.

I close my eyes. What happened that day is still fresh inside my mind.

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"_Sarada, if you don't mind, can you tell me what you drew here?" I asked gently, pointing to Sarada's own drawing displayed in the gallery._

"_Oh, that's my apartment, _Sensei_. Here is a rosemary flower because we plant rosemary at the balcony. And then this is the stray cat I found in our apartment's backyard. Mama said I can't keep it inside but it's okay to give it cat food every morning."_

_Sarada continued to explain all the strange-looking objects she drew. This child… seemed like she somewhat misunderstood the meaning of 'family' I had explained before. Or could it be that she simply thought all the things in her house as 'family'? Sarada is just cute like that._

"_The one in the middle is me. I'm wearing my favorite red dress that Mama bought me for my birthday."_

_I paid my full attention on what she said when it came to the objects of my curiosity in the first place._

_She then pointed the left figure besides her own._

"_This is my Mama…"_

_Then her finger moved to the right one._

"…_and this is Papa."_

_I paused for a moment. I couldn't take my eyes off the figure described by Sarada as her 'Papa'. My mind went blank at that time. It was kind of difficult to process what she had said, as if there was something in my mind denying it to exist._

"_Sarada… has a papa?"_

_The girl nodded._

"_Sarada's Papa is home?"_

_She smiled. "I see Papa at home a lot!"_

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I didn't ask anything else after that because my brain still found it difficult to digest everything Sarada has said. And not long after that, Sarada's mother arrived to pick her up. What a great timing! At that moment, I could only take Sarada to her mother and wave my hand at them when they left.

When my brain finally started to properly function again after a nice dinner and a few drinks, I began to think of any possibilities based on what Sarada has said before in the _hoikuen_.

So Sarada has a papa and knows who he is? But then why did Haruno-_san_ claim to be a single mother to Kurenai-_sensei_ and why the heck is the data on Sarada's father missing then?

Did Haruno-_san_ lie to her daughter? It can be that because she simply didn't want to make Sarada upset, she lied by saying that her daughter has a father and telling her who he is. But that doesn't answer how Sarada could say that her father is home. Did Haruno-_san_ show her a photo of her father? But if that's the case, then the drawing of her father should be in the form of a photo, not a full human figure considering how detailed Sarada described all of the objects she has drawn (even though her drawing is also… uh… ugly—forgive me Sarada!).

Which means, it is very likely that there's indeed a man in their life and Sarada considers him as her father. It may also be that the man often comes to Sarada and her mother's apartment because she never said that 'her papa' lives with them. Everything is now beginning to make sense, and after all, the man she considers as her father doesn't necessarily have to be her biological father, right?

Is he their neighbor then, considering Sarada sees him a lot in her apartment?

And if Sarada already treats him as her father and Haruno-_san_ herself seems to not mind that, could there be a special connection exist between that man and Haruno-_san_?

…even a single mother has a boyfriend, _huh_.

Somehow, I suddenly felt so sorry for myself. Well, I'm indeed still single and I'm never in denial of that, so what the heck do I want then?

…or maybe I simply just feel 'rivaled'. So much to the point that I was being impulsive and wrote that kind of thing in the report.

"I'm sure I'll definitely get fired after this…" I complain again, taking a deep breath.

"What the heck is going on here?" Temari asks, sounding annoyed enough because I've been ignoring her. "Quick tell me the reason why you're so sure you'll get fired!"

I open my laptop and show her the weekly report of Sarada that I have uploaded to _hoikuen_'s online website.

"_Pfft_, you are sooo gonna be fired," Temari chuckle. "Just chill and take it easy though. It's okay if you're fired. I can ask Shikamaru to find another job for you."

"I don't want to…" I say then, "If I get fired because of this, my CV will look bad and I won't be able to find job at another _hoikuen_ or _yochien_. You know how cruel this society is… my career will be ruined. And not to mention I love my current job and have struggled so much just to get a teaching certificate for an early education—wait does that mean it will be useless then?"

"Geez, Ino… I'm just joking! After all, it's not certain that you're going to be fired for real anyway. You're just worrying too much." Temari pats my back softly. "However, I still don't understand why did you have to write things like, _'Sarada also seems to be very close to her father, so I think it'd be better if Haruno-_san_ marries your boyfriend so that he can officially become Sarada's papa and live together with the both of you,' _for a student report? It's obvious that you're just assuming things again about someone you don't know personally. Are you looking for a fight?"

"Eh, don't just casually reread it like that… it makes me depressed again…"

"Just pray that Haruno-_san_ isn't the type of person who gets offended over something like this."

"…I will do that."

But it seems like my prayer isn't answered—because the next day when I was cleaning my apartment, an e-mail came from Kurenai-_sensei_, the Futaba Hoikuen's principal.

The content tells me that Haruno Sakura, Sarada's mother, requested to meet me personally on Sunday tomorrow at lunch time.

I'm so, so dead.

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**To be continued**

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A/N: Early education in Japan consists of two; _yochien_ (kindergarten) and _hoikuen_ (nursery school). The differences can be seen from the name. _Yochien_ typically accept children aged 3-5 years and are more focused on preparing young children for formal education. The class runs from morning to noon and parents normally prepare their own children's lunch. Meanwhile, _hoikuen_ typically accept children aged 0-5 years and are more focused as a daycare for parents who are busy working for the day, so the activities are more of playing than actual studying. _Hoikuen_ runs from morning to late afternoon so parents can pick up their children after work.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **NARUTO and its characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi. I also don't own any real life brands mentioned in the story.

* * *

**Coming Home To You**

by yunotsuki

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**Chapter 3**

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I arrive around twenty minutes earlier than promised time.

To be honest, I'm usually one of those people who barely arrive on time—my father used to lecture me about this when I was still living with my parents back then. However, after I moved out I thought I would be freely living my life the way I like, but Temari gladly took the role replacing my father.

Unfortunately.

Anyway, so on the odd times when I arrive much earlier like I did today, it means that I'm feeling quite nervous.

Or more precisely… very, _very_ nervous.

I mean my career is currently at stake here. I don't know—can I still work at Futaba Hoikuen? Or do I have to leave and lose my career in this field forever?

All depends on this woman whom I'm going to meet soon.

After receiving the e-mail from Kurenai-_sensei_, I casually sent back a message that was mainly about me agreeing to meet _Haruno-san._ Kurenai-_sensei_ replied by telling me Haruno-_san_'s e-mail address and that I had to contact her myself for details.

Without worrying much, I immediately sent Haruno-_san_ an email and, to make my long story short, we decided to meet at 2 PM in a cafe near Kiri University where she is currently studying.

Even though today is Sunday, I find it surprising that the cafe isn't packed with visitors—or perhaps it's because Sunday is basically a holiday for university students as well so no one normally comes here today... or is it? To be honest, I don't really know much.

Including the one I'm currently sitting on, there are only 3 occupied tables out of the 9 tables inside this rather small cafe. I only see three staffs working in the hall; a waiter, a cashier, and a barista.

There's also a flat-screen TV hanging on a ceiling not that far in front of me, currently playing a music video from a popular masked DJ from the West and becoming the background music for the visitors. I'm not really into electronic music much but the beat is pretty catchy on the ear... what is this song called again? Maybe I should _google_ it up.

I was typing on my phone when I heard the doorbell tinkling and someone called my name.

"Good afternoon, Yamanaka-_sensei_, have you been waiting long?"

"Haruno-_san_!" I quickly glance at the time on my phone screen. It's still about fifteen minutes before two—so turns out Haruno-_san_ is the type of person who comes earlier than the appointed time. Good thing I arrived even earlier than her then.

Today is starting good so far.

I stand up from my seat to welcome her. "No, no, I just arrived here myself, maybe around 5 minutes ago. Please take a seat, Haruno-_san_."

Both of us sit facing each other. She calls the staff immediately soon after, without looking at the menu first. Seems like she often comes and spends some time here then. I hear her ordering a creamy mocha and strawberry muffins before turning to her face to me.

"Have you ordered something?" she asks with a smile.

I nod my head a bit faster to my liking. "Yes, I did." I answer, pointing to the red smoothie I have ordered before.

After the staff left us with only her order, Haruno-_san_ looks again at me. "I'm treating you today so if there's any other you'd like to order, please don't hesitate to call the staff."

I admit I'm quite taken a back at that. "Oh no, you don't need to. I'll pay my own by myself."

"No, no, please let me do it. It's all on me and I insist. I have taken some of your weekends to meet me here after all."

Well, it has become harder for me to refuse anymore at this point. "Alright then. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it." I put on a smile. Is this a good sign for me?

Maaaybe.

Not willing to let our conversation stopping, I remember how Haruno-_san_ seems to be a regular customer here. "I have to admit I'm impressed by your choice of place. I think this cafe is cozy, calm, and comfortable enough to hang out with friends. Do you come here often?"

She nods, "whenever I feel bored eating in the campus cafeteria, I usually come to have lunch here. Their lunch set is pretty good and their desserts are the best. Normally this place is packed around lunch time on the weekdays, however on the weekends it becomes a wonderful place to hang out."

"Is that so? Do you normally go to campus on Sundays?"

"No, not at all. I dedicate my weekends especially for my daughter, so I don't have lectures and any lab activities on Saturdays and Sundays, unless I have a special appointment like this for example. On that occasion, I usually leave Sarada to my neighbor."

_Oh!_ Is this the _neighbor_ whom Sarada considers as her father then?

"How is Sarada?" I ask again.

"She is fine as usual. She talks a lot about you, Yamanaka-_sensei_."

"She does? What did she say?"

"She said _Sensei_ is beautiful," Haruno-_san_ answers with a smile, getting me to redden—not because of her pretty smile, _come on_, but because Sarada said I am beautiful!

"Oh, and I think Sarada is also sweet. Please tell her that." I say, scratching the back of my neck which actually doesn't feel itchy at all.

The woman in front of me then nods. "I've said this a few times before but I feel very grateful to you and Tenten-_sensei_ for taking care of Sarada until late. Especially to you, Yamanaka-_sensei, _because Sarada talks about you the most. Seems like you two have become quite close already, despite the fact that it's only been three weeks since Sarada first joined the _hoikuen."_

"Well, that's already part of my job, but to be honest I never actually mind having to accompany Sarada until you come pick her up. Rather I'm happy we could become close. I think, she's a really talented child."

"My daughter is indeed one."

The smile on Haruno Sakura's face while saying that is the smile while I often see; the same smile on the face of many parents watching their children competing at the annual _undoukai _(sports event). Even though their children lose the match, they will still feel proud of them for putting all their efforts to do their best, no matter how young the children are.

I am always amazed whenever I see those smiles, thinking if I am ever lucky enough to have a child of my own, will I have the same smile as they do?

My train of thoughts are interrupted when the staff comes carrying all of Haruno-_san_'s orders. She is right though; the muffins look so soft and tasty with those large pieces of strawberry on top. Now I feel like I want to order the same muffin too.

Then, I tell Haruno-_san_ just that.

"The muffins here are indeed very yummy. You won't regret ever trying them."

Not to mention, it's free too _lol_.

Our conversation comes to a pause when Haruno-_san_ slowly sips her creamy mocha. Her emerald green eyes are fixed on the urban scenery behind the large window next to us. I was about to find out what has caught her attention outside but instead my eyes catch a gem hiding behind the long sleeve of her cream blouse.

Is it just me or do I really see a _Rolex_ there? The one that exceeds one million yen in price?

I can't really see it clearly because most of it is covered by the clothes but I don't think I see it wrong... those silver and gold colors... and those diamonds behind the glass... I'm definitely not wrong here! After all my eyes have always been quick to spot incredibly expensive items such as _Rolex_ watches. The more unaffordable the item is, the quicker my eyes will catch it.

I think I've mentioned this before, but the Haruno family is indeed blessed with wealth. But then again, just being able to get her child into Futaba Hoikuen means that you must have loads of money. Futaba Hoikuen is a privately run nursery school providing care for babies and early education for young children with the best system, facilities, and teachers. Of course, as a result, it comes with an expensive fee as well.

They also pay their teachers and caregivers with a fantastic salary—that's why I pray so much that I won't be fired from Futaba Hoikuen just because of that student report incident. That's also why I never mind working long hours for 5 days, from the early morning until late at night, spending my energy taking care of those (sometimes) uncontrollable three-year-olds.

Besides, you think from where do I get all the money to come watch a lot of The Falcons' live concerts regularly, even as far as to go abroad, and collect almost all of Sai The Falcons' merchandises, and even attend Sai's fan-meeting event, which is one of those with the most expensive tickets, _twice_?

Your normal _hoikuen_ teachers will not be able to afford all of those things, but it doens't apply to Futaba Hoikuen's teachers like me. Like please I'm very much feeling satisfied with my current workplace and I would like it to remain that way as long as possible, if not forever.

Thinking about that reminds of the reason why I come here and meet Haruno-_san_ in the first place—doesn't she want to discuss about Sarada's weekly report? The one that I messed up?

But then why do the topics we have talked so far is nowhere near that one? Why do we feel like a pair of old friends who haven't seen each other in a long time?

"Um, Haruno-_san_," I start nervously, "I'm sorry if I sound presumptuous, but the main reason why you asked to meet me personally, isn't it because of Sarada's weekly report I wrote yesterday?"

Her green eyes then focus back on me and she nods. I gulp nervously.

"About that..." she begins slowly, "I don't know why you wriote stuffs like that for Sarada's report... did my daughter say something to you?"

Did Sarada say something to me? As far as I can recall, she just said that she often sees her 'Papa' at home.

"Umm, well, so this is actually about a drawing Sarada did the other day. I gave the children a theme of 'family' to draw about and she actually did pretty well—okay maybe a little bit excessive... she drew too many things but that's actually the cute side of hers—ah, that's not the point here. I mean, it's just that, she drew a figure which she referred to as her 'Papa', but I remember you once told me that you are a single mother, so I thought that the figure Sarada called her Papa was—"

"—my boyfriend, you mean?" she cuts my words and it makes me realize that I've basically been doing nothing but rambling almost without a break.

I nod. I feel embarrassed. "Yes, basically that. I'm really sorry if it turns out wrong and if I said too much."

She sighs.

"I told you before that as the parent of the child whom you're taking care of in the _hoikuen_, I'll always be feeling grateful to you, but our interactions will be limited to just that; a parent and her daughter's teacher. We don't know anything about each other and we barely even talk like this for long until today. So, how could you write something as if implying that we both knew each other pretty well?"

I lower my face. It is true. I've realized that soon after I uploaded the damned report on the internet. "I'm so sorry... it's my fault. I was acting unprofessional at that time."

But then the staff from before once again returns to our table with my muffins. It looks as delicious as Haruno-_san_'s, but right now, I've lost much of my appetite. I don't feel like eating those muffins anymore. However, I have no choice but to finish them as after all Haruno-_san_ is going to be paying for everything.

After the staff left, I see Haruno-_san_ smiling at me.

"I'm glad Yamanaka-_sensei_ acknowledges the issuet," she says. "I forgive you this time."

"But, are you going to report about this to Kurenai-_sensei_? This is the first time I've ever made a mistake like I did. Believe me."

"Please take it easy. I won't say anything to Kurenai-_sensei_. I mean I could have just told her everything and made a complaint without meeting you like this first, but I didn't, so you don't have to worry about it. I told her beforehand that I arranged this meeting merely as a gratitude to you being my daughter's main teacher."

After hearing that, my body, which I didn't realize has been so tense, instantly becomes relaxed. It is as if a heavy burden has just been lifted from my back until everything suddenly feels light. "I thought... I would be fired..." I mutter softly.

"Pardon me?"

"Ah no, no, I just muttered to myself." I laugh while scratching the back of my neck again.

The woman in front of me also chuckles softly before she begins to eat her muffins. At that moment, I come to realize that she hadn't touched her muffins at all before and, instead, had waited until my own arrived. What a thoughtful woman she is. I immediately grab my muffin and take a bite. It's just as she said—it tastes so wonderful! The texture is soft on my tongue and the strawberries are surprisingly sweet. My appetite has returned back for sure.

On top of that, I'm so glad that the problem has finally been solved and our conversation turns out well in the end. I feel also relieved that she would be willing to forgive my own carelessness.

One thing has caught my attention though. I knew I was wrong for selfishly assuming things about people I barely know, but I think she also has never confirmed whether what I wrote in that report is completely false or not.

Neither she agrees nor denies anything.

Now I've become pretty curious, but I don't dare let it out of me. I don't want to make her uncomfortable by asking private questions when we are not that close. Not yet, at least. We've talked quite a lot today besides the report thing so I guess it's safe to assume that we are now friends.

Are we really, though? Am I allowed to call her my friend? She is soft yet also firm at the same time, kinda scary to be honest. But I am sure Temari will like her as friends as well if both of them ever have a chance to meet.

And I still want to find out about that 'Papa' Sarada told me that time...

All of a sudden my ears catch a familiar tune. I turn my eyes on the TV's screen at the other end and turns out it's currently airing The Falcon's newest music video, _This Feeling_.

"That's right, they dropped this music video yesterday on their Youtube."

"Huh?"

I just remembered I'm not exactly alone here. "No, I mean, that TV over there is airing The Falcon's newest single... do you know about The Falcons? The currently most popular Konoha-based boyband among the youths?"

Haruno-_san_ turns her back to stare at the TV behind her. "Oh... yeah I know."

"They released this new single around three weeks ago, but the music video was just released yesterday. It's called _This Feeling_. I think the song's atmosphere is kind of similar to their old hit, _Girls Like You, _so perhaps they might have been trying to repeat the success of that song."

Haruno-_san_ then looks at me and smiles. "Um, is Yamanaka-_sensei_ a fan of The Falcons?"

"Haha, yeah, you can say that I'm a Falconer—that's what their fans are called," I answer, a little bit shy. "What about you, Haruno_-san_?"

"Oh, I often hear their songs on the radio. I like them, but I'm not exactly what you'd call their fans... just casual."

"Is that so? Too bad I was having hopes I could get to meet another fellow Falconer. All this time I've spent my fangirling time only with my best friend—she's also a Falconer like me. It's just that while she's a fan of Hyuuga Neji, I'm more of a Shimura Sai's fan, hahaha."

"Too bad indeed..."

"But please do tell me if someday you change your mind and become a Falconer, will you? We can all fangirl together later on. I won't even mind if you also become Sai The Falcon's fan. In fact I will gladly show you my own collection of Sai merchs!"

I really have no shame. But this is just so that I can become close friends with her. The quickest and easiest way is, of course, if we both have the same interests. Besides, it'd also be great if I can get another person to stan The Falcons like how I did Temari. The more the merrier, isn't that what people say these days?

"Or Uchiha Sasuke? I think half of the Falconers are his fans. He's also set to play in a movie that will be released at the end of this year. If you're into watching movies, perhaps you can also become his fan, right? Hahaha."

I see Haruno-_san _who keeps on her smile. Perhaps she's trying to figure out how to respond to my rambling. Well, that usually happens when a non-fan meets a hardcore fangirl. Nothing unusual. Besides I've never hid the fact that I'm really a fangirl. There are so many Falconers like me out there after all so there's nothing supposedly odd about it.

"Sorry if I sound too enthusiastic about it, Haruno-_san_," I say chuckling.

"Nothing to worry. It's also interesting after all."

"But, I'm actually serious about you becoming Sai's, Sasuke's, or the other member's fan so we can go hang out or go see their live concerts together for example. Right, I just remembered something! This Golden Week at the beginning of May, they will have a show tour in Kiri... eh, but wait, I think the tickets should have all been sold out by this time if you want to buy, after all Golden Week starts next week, too bad..."

"Hahaha! You're really an interesting person, _Sensei_!" That woman laughs again. Then she takes a glance at the watch on her wrist—as I thought that's indeed Rolex! As expected of my sharp eyes when it comes to expensive stuffs. "It's already this late..." she says then, "I suppose I have to get going right now. I want to do some grocery shopping first before I get home, because I don't want to come home too late. Sorry for that, Yamanaka-_sensei_."

"I think I'm going home as well. By the way, do you have any _instagram _accounts?"

"I don't have either _instagram_, _twitter_, or such things. I'm not really into that kind of stuffs."

Huh? Dear me, I can't find anything that way then... "What about _Line? _You do _line_ at least, right?"

"Well... I do have _line_..."

"Can I ask for yours then?"

Haruno-_san_ nods. I quickly grab my iPhone and open my _line_ application as well as look for the QR code scan feature. She shows me her own QR code and after I scan it, an account called 'Haruno Sakura' appears on my screen.

"I'll add you and text you later so please add me back. By the way, thank you for all of these, Haruno-_san_."

"Don't mention it. So I'm going first, alright? Also I'm treating you today as I said before."

"Yeah, thank you so much again for that." I stand up as soon as she does.

"See you tomorrow at _hoikuen_, Yamanaka-_sensei_."

"See you, Haruno-_san_."

I watch her walk towards the cashier and pay for all of our orders. When she finishes, she waves her hand at my direction while walking out of the cafe.

I sit back and finish my own muffin that's only half-finished because I kept talking much when I was with Haruno-_san_ earlier. I take a glance at my iPhone's screen and stare at Haruno-_san_'s _line _account on it. Her profile picture is her together with Sarada. They're both wearing similar _yukata_ with cherry blossom trees at the background. Seems like they were doing _hanami_ at that time.

Seeing both of their face side by side like this, it's even more glaring to me that Sarada's physical appearances must take after her father. Both mother and daughter don't really look alike after all, at least physically. Haruno-_san_ has a soft pink hair and emerald green eyes while Sarada have them all black. Wait, but if I zoom in like this, they both have the same eye shape. Their expressions also more or less look the same. One thing for sure is that both mother and daughter look so pretty.

Now I get even more curious about Sarada's biological father, also about the '_papa_' whom Sarada referred to that day. I didn't obtain any useful information at all from Haruno-_san_ earlier. Well, it's not my place to ask after all in the first place. At least not yet. I have to get closer to her to get the permission to answer all of these questions.

Then I send Haruno-_san_ some _line_ chats.

_Yamanaka Ino: Thank you for today. Also for the treat!  
Yamanaka Ino: Maybe we can hang out again later when we both have time. I'll be the one treating you next time.  
Yamanaka Ino: You can also ask Sarada so us three can go somewhere together.  
Yamanaka Ino: Btw, can I call you Sakura?  
_

Such my bad habit sending continuous chats like these. I hope Haruno-_san_ won't mind. It's hard to change what has become your habit after all.

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**To be continued**

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A/N: Line is a chatting app that is widely used in Japan. Hanami is a Japanese traditional custom of "flower viewing", although basically only refers to cherry blossom viewing. Also, according to Ino, next week in this story is a Golden Week. In Japan, Golden Week (GW) is a period from the end of April to the first week of May containing a number of Japanese national holidays (April 29th and May 3rd-5th) plus the weekends. Then what's going to happen on GW? The answer is, Ino plans to watch a live concert.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **NARUTO and its characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi. I also don't own any real life brands mentioned in the story.

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**Coming Home To You**

by yunotsuki

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**Chapter 4**

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After my conversation with Sakura-_san_ one week ago, for some reasons I feel like good lucks often greet me and say hi. For example, my _Amazon_ order came earlier than scheduled, the kids in _hoikuen_ aren't as mischievous as they usually were, and just yesterday Temari and her family invited me to a dinner in a super fancy French restaurant (one that is very popular to the point you have to make a booking first several days earlier for a seat) which was quite out of the blue in my opinion.

But this particular one though was just utterly unbelievable.

That day was supposed to be no different than any other typical days. After _hoikuen_ time ended at five in the late afternoon, all the kids got picked up one by one by their family member, including one certain boy called Boruto. I was on my way sending him to his father who was waiting in the _genkan_ (entryway).

"_Otsukaresama_, Yamanaka-_sensei_, is Boruto being a bad kid today or not?" Uzumaki-_san, _his father, greeted me as we came into view.

"Daad, I'm not a bad kid!" I heard Boruto protesting while putting on his outdoor shoes. But, well, like usual both his father and I basically ignored his protests hahaha.

"_Otsukaresama_, Uzumaki-_san_." I messed with boy's blonde hair instead. "Boruto is being a really good kid today. During the lunch break he even shared the strawberries he brought from home to Sarada and Chouchou, didn't you Boruto?"

That kid nodded being proud.

"Oh, now that's impressive! Next time we should bring more strawberries so you can share them to all of your friends in Kuma class."

"No! If I share then the strawberries at home will be gone!"

"Hahaha, once it's all gone we can buy them again, right?"

"Hm, okay! But I also wanna give _edamame _(green soybean) to Sarada because she likes _edamame_ more than strawberries!"

"_Edamame_?" Uzumaki-_san _was about to ask further but his son already ran towards the front yard through the hoikuen's door. He then shouted at his son. "Boruto, wait for me there don't go anywhere! Dad wants to talk with Yamanaka-_sensei_ just for a little while!"

I raised my eyebrow hearing that. That's quite unusual. Something's up?

"Is it okay, _Sensei_?" asked Uzumaki-_san_ while grinning widely.

"I don't mind, but is there something wrong, Uzumaki-_san_?"

"Um... so how do I begin..." I saw him rubbing the backside of his head. "If I'm not mistaken, Yamanaka-_sensei_ is a fan of The Falcons right? Because I remember you asked me whether my wife was actually Neji The Falcons' relative or not on the _hoikuen_'s entrance ceremony."

I was then reminded of that exact event and nodded. "Hm, that's right. Indeed I'm their fan, but is there something with it?"

"That's cool!" Uzumaki-_san_ then reached into his briefcase and took something from inside. He handed me something that looked to be a pair of same tickets—somehow I didn't know if it's just me but did I actually see The Falcons' infamous logo printed there?

"Then I take it you must've already known that The Falcons are going to have a live concert this Sunday in Kiri Dome." The man continued. "Are you going to go watch it?"

"The Golden Week Tour isn't it? Yes, I'll be going as I bought the ticket already..." I stared at those pair of The Falcons tickets in Uzumaki-_san_'s hand, but why did I feel like something was not exactly right with them?

"Oh, no, no. These are not the tickets to The Falcons' concert, but instead the special tickets for the backstage access."

In an instant my eyes moved to look at Uzumaki-_san_'s face. My jaw literally dropped.

"Exactly. These are the tickets to get inside the backstage and meet all members of The Falcons in person. Tickets like these are usually given to press or special guests such as family members or relatives. I got these from Neji for me and my family, but my wife hasn't been all that well lately so Boruto and her are not going to their concert this time. However, I just think that it'll be such a waste if these two aren't being used, and so..."

I glanced back at those tickets in his hand.

"And then I suddenly remembered that Yamanaka-_sensei_ was a fan of the Falcons. Therefore, as an expression of gratitude for taking care of Boruto who's been pretty difficult lately, I'm giving these tickets to you for free. Since there are two of these, you can also bring one friend with you," he continued, "I already told Neji about this and he said he didn't mind me bringing my acquaintances who are The Falcons fans."

I still found it hard to process everything that came out of Uzumaki-_san_'s mouth back then, so I couldn't really manage to say anything in response. It was really hard to believe—was everything he said happened for real?

But then, when those two tickets finally were in my hands after I nodded to him in affirmation and saw 'Backstage Special Entry' clearly written there, that was when it finally came down to me that everything happened just then undoubtedly was a reality.

"Alright, see you again this Sunday at the concert then, _Sensei_!"

This Sunday... The Falcons's concert... backstage... meet and talk with all members of The Falcons in person...

This is totally insane...

OH MY GOD TOMORROW I'M LITERALLY GOING TO MEET SAI THE FALCONS IN PRIVATE! KYAAH—!

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Sweats soak some parts of my body, my blonde hair has become so messy, and my throat feels so hoarse from screaming loudly, but nothing is stopping me and my spirit from swinging my light sticks and singing along with thousands of other Falconers inside the Kiri Dome.

"SAAAAIIII—!" I scream once Sai's face became the focus of one big screen right over there. The real him is standing on top of the stage far away from where I am so I won't be able to see his face clearly without the help from the screen.

But that doesn't matter at all to me.

"Ino-_sensei_, this is the first time I've ever seen—" I can no longer hear Tenten's voice due to the loud screams from all of the Falconers attending this concert—90% of them are females I think, including me.

"Whaaat? Can you say it again much louder because I can't hear you!" I shouts and incline my head to the side closer to her who's currently standing next to me on my right.

"I said thank you for inviting me! I didn't know that it would be this much fun! So once again thaaanks!" She also shouts after that.

I nod then give her a high five. I got one more more person as a Falconer again today. _Heh_.

But actually the one who's supposed to come together with me was actually Temari, but that woman suddenly canceled at the last moment because she said she has to visit her brothers in Suna on the day of the concert. She also added that there are some issues back home, but I totally have no idea what they are because she didn't tell me much about it. Even though I've told her about the backstage entry tickets, but still family matters are much more important, or that's what she said. Well she's right though.

Because I didn't want to go with just myself—going alone is not fun after all and yeah... not my fault if I have no boyfriend to accompany me at times like this, but then listen, think about it again, what boyfriend would be excited escorting his girlfriend to her favorite boyband concert? Perhaps things would be different if it was a metal band concert instead—anyway, so I tried to find someone else I could invite to go watch The Falcons together with me.

The first person I could think of was Sakura-_san_.

However, after I told her everything about Temari and The Falcons' backstage entry tickets through _Line_, that woman literally declined. There's another matter to attend to on that day, she said. At first I thought, didn't she tell me that time she would clear her weekend schedules to be able to spend time with Sarada? And she could even entrust Sarada to that neighbor her daughter referred to as her papa if she agreed to go with me. That's why I still tried to persuade her to go with me because, honestly speaking, I really didn't want to go alone. It's not fun!

But no matter what Sakura-_san_ still declined. She absolutely couldn't leave whatever that matter was because it's still related to her family, or so as she said.

If she's said that then I no longer had a choice. It would be rude of me if I kept insisting to invite her to come together with me after all. Even though we can be considered friends right now, but I'm still not as close to her as I am with Temari after all.

Because Sakura-_san_ couldn't come, so I tried to ask Tenten next. Even though we both work at the same workplace, I don't really talk that much with her as she's only a part-timer in the _hoikuen_, so I had no idea whether she actually liked The Falcons or not. But since I was so _desperate_, I still tried to invite her.

Although it turned out she's not a Falconer, fortunately she still said yes to my invitation because normally who would refuse such a generous invitation to attend the live concert of the most popular boyband in the country for free? Furthermore, even being offered a chance to meet that said famous boyband directly in person.

(Except Sakura-_san_ of course.)

Loud screams ring in the air all of a sudden, surprising both me and my thoughts. Those loud, high-pitched screams coming from all the females in the audience's seats apparently were caused by a figure who's currently the focus of the big screens.

Who else if it's not the leader of The Falcons, Uchiha Sasuke?

"Falconers, thank you for coming to the first concert of our Golden Week Tour!" His deep baritone voice shouts out loud due to the headset microphone he's wearing, followed by even much louder screams coming from the fans.

I've mentioned before that more than half of the Falconers in the whole country are Sasuke's fans, so this is what typically happens in every The Falcons' concert whenever Sasuke becomes the main focus of the stage. I admit he's indeed the most handsome member of the group (followed closely by Sai of course) and the most talented one with an impressive vocal techniques complimenting his baritone voice (but Sai's own vocal also doesn't lose to him though).

Moreover, according to many of his fans on the internet, he's always very humble and friendly to his fans, especially when they have the chance to meet him at his exclusive fansign events. I heard he's always trying to start a conversation with his fans who come to him and it will even last as long as five minutes sometimes. Perhaps that's the reason why his exclusive fansign tickets are the one most limited out of the members of the group. His tickets will always be gone so quick to the point even a hardcore fangirl like me has never ever managed to get even just one.

And, well, if you've watched The Falcons' behind-the-scene videos or some reality show episodes in which they're featured, Sasuke indeed seems like a fun guy. Not to mention that many short clips of his funny and adorable scenes loitering in the internet, which were edited by the Falconers, often get thousands of likes in just a matter of seconds.

Too bad that I personally am more into Sai. If I were to be asked why, honestly even I myself couldn't come up with the exact answers. Some people online (mostly antis) have said that Sai's smiles are kind of twisted (and I would usually get into a rage mode whenever I see that kind of comments), however in my most personal and humble opinion, Sai's smiles always and always look cute. There's just something about him that attracts my full attention, yet it's hard for me to explain what, even though I've met him twice in person during his fanmeet events.

"Once more we'd like to offer our biggest gratitude to all of you here—" KYAA SAI! "—if it's not because of you guys, dear Falconers, then we wouldn't be here standing in this stage right now."

"Sai's right," Neji chimes in, "and even from now on, we're still going to be in need your unwavering supports. Therefore, will you keep supporting us just like before?"

All of the Falconers, including me, scream, _'WE WILL!'_

"Also don't forget to vote for The Falcons in Konoha Music Awards this year, alright!" exclaimed Kiba while eagerly raising his fist into the air.

"If we win again, we will bring a special present for our dear Falconers," Suigetsu adds.

Screams once again reverberating the entire Kiri Dome, including one of mine. Because of course I'm going to vote for them! I'd even vote one thousand times more if it were possible so that The Falcons can win big. And I can't help but be curious what kind of presents they're talking about? A new single? New album? Free fansign tickets? Or an exclusive holiday trip with The Falcons?

"If you're wondering what the present will be, of course you have to vote for us first,"—OMG SAI ARE YOU READING MY MIND?—"because if you don't then we will end up losing, and then we will have to say bye bye to the present."

"Hey now don't be like that Sai!" Kiba and Suigetsu shout in unison while playfully smacking Sai on each side of his arms. Those adorable gestures attract more screams from the Falconers, including mine of course.

"The next song, as well as our last today, is the most precious one to us The Falcons," said Sasuke after that, "and especially to myself because it was the first song I wrote myself for The Falcons. Can you guess what it is?"

One solid scream then can be heard from the audiences' seats at the same time. _'GIRLS LIKE YOU!' _

Exactly in the next moment, the prerecorded heartbreaking yet soft melodies of a classic piano start playing in the air. All of the audiences scream their best as the intro to Girls Like You, The Falcons' second single solely written by their leader himself, Uchiha Sasuke, and which was also their award-winning hit, fills the entire corner of Kiri Dome in the most epic way possible.

_"Spent my night wondering_—

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—_why do I feel so empty?_

_My life feels incomplete_

_Something is missing_

_._

_'Cause boys like me only become perfect_

_coming together with girls like you_

_._

_._

**To be continued**

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A/N: Sorry if this chapter is quite short because the next one is going to be much longer. Thank you everyone for reading. Perhaps some of you might think that my storytelling in this fic is quite unusual for an English fic, as most likely because this one is based on a non-English storytelling, but I really hope you'll consider it as a different kind of a reading experience, of course in a positive way.

I wanted to reply to a review here because I can't send a reply to that person privately.

booboboo: Thank you for reading! Actually it's because of you I became determined to continue updating this fic (google translation is shitty and I wouldn't recommend it if I knew). Thank you! Btw, you already know how this story would progress but still... please enjoy this one as well.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **NARUTO and its characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi. I also don't own any real life brands mentioned in the story.

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**Coming Home To You**

by yunotsuki

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**Chapter 5**

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"Yamanaka-_sensei_! Here! I'm here!"

I see Uzumaki-_san_ at the opposite end of the corridor, waving his hand at me. Then Tenten and I immediately trot towards him.

"Oh, so you brought Tenten-_sensei_ with you," commented Uzumaki-_san_ while bowing his head a little bit at Tenten. She responds to him with similar gesture.

"Ino-_sensei_ invited me because her friend who's supposedly going to come couldn't make it in the end. I also heard from Ino-_sensei_ that it was Uzumaki-_san_ who gave us the chance to enter the backstage, therefore I'd like to say thank you."

That man nods. "It's no big deal. I also got this ticket from one of The Falcons' members who's my relative. His name is Neji. Later you can also deliver your gratitude to him."

"Of course!" I exclaim.

Right now I can barely wait to enter the backstage as soon as possible. I've fixed my make-up in the toilet before this and I've also prepared my mental self to meet The Falcons, especially Sai, in private. I even brought one of The Falcons poster collections I own so that I can ask all of them to personally sign it.

Uzumaki-_san_ then guides us to the entrance door to the backstage, which is guarded by two big-built security staffs. They let us in after each of us showed them the tickets and after they gave us name tags written as _'special guest'_.

"Can I know who is Yamanaka-_sensei_'s most favorite among The Falcons members?" Uzumaki-_san _asks me out of the blue after we're told that we still have to wait for a while in the waiting room.

"My favorite member has always been Sai since the beginning," I answer, "but please don't ask me why though because I myself don't exactly know the answer. Perhaps, it could be because of his smile."

"So, it's Sai! In my opinion though Sai is a bit kind of creepy, you know," _DUH!_ "but still he's really fortunate to have a fan like Yamanaka-_sensei_. Then, what about you, Tenten-_sensei_?"

"I'm still a new fan, so for now I don't have a particular someone I favor the most. I like everyone."

"This was her first The Falcons's concert," I add, grinning.

"Is that so? That means Tenten-_sensei_ is very lucky to have the chance meeting all The Falcons' members in private on your first concert."

Uzumaki-_san_ is right, Tenten is especially lucky. Hardcore Falconers out there are so going to be jealous of her if they know about this. I can imagine they would definitely take any possible measures just to be in her shoes and obtain this one very rare opportunity which we are very blessed to have.

"What about you, Uzumaki-_san_? I know you and Neji The Falcons are relatives through your wife, but are you also friends with the other members?" I ask him this time.

"Well yeah, you can say I'm friends with all of them. At first it was because of Neji, but sometimes when I was still in Konoha, I would go hang out together with them whenever we had the chances, so I think I'm pretty close with them. They are all genuinely fun people to be with after all, but soon you're going to witness something that, I bet, will totally left you stunned!"

Before I can ask for more details, a staff comes to usher us towards The Falcons' private green room. They are ready to have guests right now I hear.

"Remember the rule. No photos, no videos," I can't count how many times that staff has said this.

We all nod. _Gee_, and here I was hoping for the chance to take a picture with all of The Falcons...

"Don't worry, we will manage to do one later," whispered Uzumaki-_san_ with a smirk. I return that with one of my own as well as a thumb. _Heh_.

My chest is pounding hard when the staff knock the door with "The Falcons" written on the silver-colored plate on it's surface. I can hear a dim respond coming from inside—I'm not sure from who, perhaps Suigetsu—and then the staff opens the door for us.

"Naruto! Finally you're here!" THAT'S KIBA—an he bumps his fist with Uzumaki-_san_'s. Seems like what he said before is right; The Falcons and him look like long lost friends already.

"How is Hinata? Is she alright?" THAT'S NEJI—his long hair looks impossibly smooth and silky as usual, I mean didn't he just finish a concert a short while ago? Therefore as a woman and a fellow owner of long hair, I can't help feeling a bit jealous. What kind of hair product is he using? But unfortunately I also don't have the guts to ask. _Ugh_.

"She's fine. Two days ago she had some kind of a back pain to the point she could barely move, but right now she's okay. Her doctor also said that there's nothing seriously concerning that we should worry about."

"I see. That's relieving. But I'm still worried because she wasn't like this when she was pregnant with Boruto."

"I think it's mainly because we had to move to Kiri in her pregnancy. I couldn't refuse when Hinata firmly insisted that she wanted to come along with me as well."

"That girl has become so stubborn after she married you."

"Hahaha, that's not the case, really..."

"Naruto, by the way, who do you have there behind you?"—KYAAA SAI! THIS IS SAI! THE REAL SAI! I was too focused on Uzumaki-_san_'s conversation with Neji that I didn't realize Sai was here—of course he is! What the heck, Ino!

"That's right, I almost forgot! Because Hinata and Boruto unfortunately couldn't come today, so I invited Boruto's teachers from his _hoikuen_. These are Yamanaka Ino and Tenten. By chance they are also fans of The Falcons."

"Greetings, my name is Tenten. I'm a new fan. Your concert earlier was undoubtedly amazing!" Tenten says, introducing herself.

Although I'm actually very nervous right now, I try my hardest to calm myself and bow down at them. "I-I'm Yamanaka Ino! I've always been a fan of The Falcons since your debut 2 years ago!"

"Yamanaka-_sensei_ told me that she's a huge fan of Sai," Uzumaki-_san_'s adds with his wide grin. _Gee!_ Thanks to him now I feel embarrassed!

"Damn it, Sai, you're so lucky to have a peerless beauty like her as a fan!" THAT'S SUIGETSU—and he also puts his arm across Sai's shoulders. His pointed teeth look dazzling at a close distance when he makes a wide toothy smile at us. "Both of you know who we are already, but there's nothing wrong if we do some introductions. I'm Hozuki Suigetsu, you can call me Suigetsu. And this one is Shimura Sai."

"Nice to meet you," Sai chimes in, and, oh my God, even though I've seen him twice during his fanmeets but this is the first time I'm meeting him in a personal situation like this and I'm so starstruck—I literally can't take my eyes off of him.

And that smile of his—_ugh_! I feel like melting right now!

"Hi, my name is Inuzuka Kiba. Just call me Kiba. Thanks a lot for making your time to come watch our concert!" Kiba also introduces himself. His sharp, almond-shaped eyes narrowing when he smiles. He's cute.

"And I'm Hyuuga Neji, Boruto's uncle. Thank you for taking care of my nephew in _hoikuen._" Neji's soft voice and unique irises somehow manage to calm me down.

"Oh, it's nothing. That's my job after all. Besides Boruto is a cheerful boy for most of the time so we in the _hoikuen_ are all happily taking care of him," I respond, "isn't that right, Tenten-_sensei_?"

"Yes, that's right. Boruto has always been pretty adorable on top of that. And thank you for giving us the opportunity to visit the backstage."

"Don't mention it."

All of a sudden, Uzumaki-_san_ asks the important question. "Wait, where's Sasuke? He's not here?"

Certainly I don't see Sasuke The Falcons here in this room. I've been too starstruck to begin with, so I fail to notice that one member is currently missing.

"He's having a private guess, they said. He'll come here sooner or later," answered Kiba.

Suigetsu comments, "perhaps it's that movie director again, who's his name again? Ever since Sasuke got a cast in that movie, that director has come to visit many times, even to our studio."

"You mean, Jiraiya?" I respond, "You're talking about the Coming Home To You movie right? If I'm not mistaken the director was called Jiraiya."

"You seem to know a lot. Or don't tell me Yamanaka-_san_ is not actually my fan, but Sasuke's instead?"

Oh my God, Sai, that's not what I mean... "N-No, I mean, I just happened to know, that's all."

"Haha, I'm just kidding. Besides I know you, the girl who attended my fanmeet bringing the whole 1:1 scaled poster of mine for me to sign, am I right?"

MY GOODNESS HE STILL REMEMBERED! PLEASE KILL ME NOW!

"One-to-one scaled poster? Wait, but then that means it's real-life size, isn't it? Are you for real? Do you also have my version of that poster?"

Suigetsu asking me with such a loud intonation does nothing but makes me feel much more embarrassed. Not to mention literally everyone in this room shifts their focused attention towards me right now. Without being able to utter anything, I just shake my head slowly. Suigetsu then makes such a disappointed expression which is followed by mocking laughter from his fellow group members. Seeing all that also makes me laugh just a little bit in the end.

If only they knew I've set that 1:1 scaled poster up as a standing display I placed inside my room... well perhaps I should just shut up about it.

In the next moment, they let us to sit and offer a few of canned cold beers. I gladly accept them of course, but Tenten asks for a soda because she says she doesn't drink alcohol. Hm, that's news for me. Even though we are both co-workers but I still don't know anything about Tenten. Perhaps I should invite her to lunches after this.

Uzumaki-_san_ is totally right. The Falcons behind the camera are all fun and humble people. Kiba and Suigetsu are the most cheerful members in this group and they always and always love teasing and mocking Sai—poor Sai—but the receiving person himself doesn't mind it at all. In fact sometimes he will tease them back with his sarcastic responses—not to mention I just found out that Sai is actually a dark humor expert, but it's the one that magically doesn't make the atmosphere to turn awkward, this kinda surprised me actually. And then Neji is the calmest among the others but still he often offers his comments and opinions here and there.

Actually, this is not that different from what I've always gathered after watching The Falcons' behind-the-scene coverage or reality show features—except Sai and his dark humors of course. But seeing them in person and watching them on screen definitely are two different experiences, especially when now I feel like I'm actually involved in it. I feel like this isn't reality and I'm merely dreaming.

I think my love for The Falcons has grown even much more than before.

Our topic then comes back to Sasuke who still hasn't yet returned to this green room.

"I bet his private guest is that actress with the red hair again. Lately I often see her coming to the studio with Director Jiraiya," said Kiba while rubbing his own chin.

Woah, this is the gossip that was covered in Temari's favorite magazine, isn't it? Does this mean Sasuke and Karin are indeed close like what the article said? To think that I can get the news from valid and trusted sources is totally cool! Those mysterious 'anonymous' sources in that magazine can now just bury themselves in shame.

"By that actress you mean Uzumaki Karin, right? Are they really as close as what the circulating gossips say about them?" I ask feeling suddenly excited. My curiosity mode is activated.

Kiba then says, "Oh, so there are gossips about them out there already? Actually I don't really know. We've never asked Sasuke directly about it because since it's not really that important to us personally and I just think that whenever I see that woman in the studio it's all simply for that movie."

"And I think Sasuke also has never introduced that actress to us as far as I can remember. On top of that, we aren't exactly concerned with the stuff about the movie because we are not involved in it after all. Our manager and Sasuke himself deal with it."

"Neji's right," Suigetsu adds, "that's why I even forgot the director's name just earlier."

"High chance they are indeed close though. This is the first time I heard Sasuke being involved with a woman. And here I believe he's actually gay."

WAIT, SAI, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?

"Sasuke is... gay?" I repeat, feeling taken aback.

"Pfft how can you come up with that, Sai!" Uzumaki-_san_ say while stifling his laughter for some reason. "Indeed he might never have told us anything about the opposite gender—so unlike you guys—but that doesn't automatically mean he's gay though. Maybe he just doesn't feel the need to talk about it. But I'm sure he's into women just like us."

"So does that mean each of you have a girlfriend then?" Woah, good job Tenten! Dig it deeper! Dig it deeper!

"No, none of us has one," answered Sai—and for some reason I suddenly feel relieved. "But I think Kiba secretly does. Who's the name again... Tama-_chan_?"

"Hey! I told you guys before that Tama is just my friend since childhood, not my girlfriend!" Kiba denies, but looking at his reddened face even I think they are so not 'just' a friend. Kiba's fans would be so heartbroken if they knew about this.

The other members of The Falcons laugh seeing Kiba's reaction. They definitely have the same thought as I do.

"But the truth is our management forbids us to have a girlfriend right now, because The Falcons has just made a debut not too long ago, right? We're not even completely ripe yet. Two years are still short after all," explained Neji after that.

Is that so? Well, no wonder I guess. But hold on, if my memory serves right, didn't Suigetsu date a model for a while before? Although they broke up like not so long ago I think. And so I ask about this matter to him.

"Ah, that... It was merely to promote her modelling career, that's all about it. You know how entertainment world works. Sometimes you need a scandal to raise your popularity, so our management agencies set us up for it. But don't let any of these out to public, okay? It's a secret," answered Suigetsu. "If I can be honest, she's not even my type at all. In fact, the type of women I like is actually kinda similar to that Sasuke's woman we've talked about before."

"I don't have a woman," a baritone voice suddenly comes from the direction of the door—oh my GOD THAT'S SASUKE! THE REAL SASUKE!

This is the first time I've ever seen Sasuke this close (because as I said I've never been to his fanmeet events). I think I've also mentioned before that Sasuke is the most handsome member in The Falcons and I'm totally not lying here—even though the value of handsomeness is a taste and tastes are very subjective, but still.

I'm being starstruck again for the umpteenth times today.

"Oh, Sasuke! _Otsukaresama_! Done meeting with your guest?" Uzumaki-_san_ greets him with a fist-bump, to which Sasuke answers with the same gesture.

The leader of The Falcons finally notices Tenten's and my existence in the room when after he grabs a can of beer from the table.

"They are my acquaintances," Uzumaki-_san_ explains on his own, "Hinata and Boruto couldn't come today so I invited Boruto's _hoikuen_ teachers who just happened to be fans of The Falcons. The one with hair buns is Tenten and another with blonde hair is Yamanaka Ino."

Sasuke only nods. He opens his beer can and sits down on the empty single sofa between Uzumaki-_san_ and Neji. This room suddenly turns into a complete silent as it seems like the rest of The Falcons are waiting for him to say something, but their leader continues to keep his mouth shut.

"Oi, Sasuke, shouldn't you introduce yourself?" Kiba asks, breaking the silent.

"Right. I'm Uchiha Sasuke. Nice to meet you."

I'm finally brought back to an awkward reality when those black eyes stare at me. "Ah yes, nice to meet you too. I'm Yamanaka Ino."

I think Tenten also feels as awkward as I do because she introduces herself in a quite a poor way, perhaps mixed with being starstruck too.

The room goes silent again. After Sasuke's sudden appearance in this room, for some reason I've been feeling pretty awkward—is it because he arrived when we were gossiping him still? If I were him I would feel awkward too if I entered a room and found out the people inside were gossiping or talking about me. A kind of an unpleasant feeling, or whatever you name it.

But isn't Sasuke a friendly person in general? From The Falcons' videos he seems like a fun and pleasant type. Always putting on a smile and behaving in ways that melt his fans. That's why he has so many fans out there in return.

However what I'm feeling right now is a total opposite. Is Sasuke currently not in a good mood?

Uzumaki-_san_ seems to catch the confusion on my face because in the next moment he says, "hahaha, you know, the real Sasuke is actually like this. Cool and doesn't talk much. The Sasuke persona you see out there is a complete fake. I was also surprised the first time I got to meet him, because he's just too different."

"Yeah, he's absolutely right," Suigetsu chimes in, "Sasuke will turn into a completely different persona whenever he is in front of a camera or when he is standing on the stage. I've been in the same group with him for the last two years and even I'm still not completely used to it yet."

"That's why he could get the main character role of a movie without casting. His acting is just too good to be true," Sai adds.

I take a glance at Sasuke who's silently listening his friends who are talking about him, not even sharing comments of his own or anything. I really can't believe that the real Sasuke The Falcons would be like this. This is nuts. If Falconers knew about this, I'm sure the fandom would explode in a matter of seconds and it would totally stay like that for weeks. But, you can say I'm really lucky having the chance to know firsthand!

This room is back to lively again thanks to the chattering trio Kiba-Suigetsu-Sai and Uzumaki-_san_ who often responds to them. And then for some reason, the topic of the conversation is now shifted to Tenten and I.

"Have you been working long in the _hoikuen_?" asked Neji.

"Yes, after I graduated from high school, I worked part-time in several places before I landed a part-time offer in Futaba Hoikuen. After I obtained the early education teaching license, I finally become a full-time staff there. Until now, it's been 2.5 years since I first started full time."

"In my case, I'm still a part-timer," Tenten says next, "because I haven't got the license yet, but I plan to take the exam in the near future."

"Futaba Hoikuen is the best pre-school facility in the whole Kiri. All of the staffs there are professionals. That's why I decided to enter Boruto there." Uzumaki-_san _exclaims proudly. "You all know how Boruto is, do you? But you know what, just recently I heard that Boruto was willing to share his foods to his friends. In fact, he said himself that he wants to bring _edamame_ for one of his friend and it's just yesterday when he begged me non-stop to buy him lots of them."

"Ah, _edamame_ for Sarada, right," I say, remembering the short talk between father and son in _hoikuen_ before the said father gave the backstage entry tickets to me.

Neji asks again, "Sarada? Who's that?"

"Sarada is one of the girls under my care in _hoikuen. _She's in the same class and same batch with Boruto in Kuma class. I noticed that the two have been quite close lately as they often play together."

"Boruto is still a three-year-old but he's having a crush on a girl already?"

"What are you talking about, Sai, there's just no way a three-year-old understood stuff like that." Suigetsu smacks one of Sai's arms.

"Loser. Just admit that you envy a three-year-old."

"What did you say! Who's feeling envy!"

"But really when I think about it again," Uzumaki-_san_ cuts them, "these days at home Boruto's been telling us about his friend, Sarada. Sarada this and Sarada that, he always has a story to tell every time. So, don't tell me Sai's actually right... my son is entering his puberty already?"

Unexpectedly, Sasuke throws an empty can that he just finished earlier to Uzumaki-_san. _Exactly on his head. I can't help but laugh at that.

"Hey! It hurts, _Teme_!"

"Boruto is still three years olds, _Dobe_."

"I know but no need to throw an empty can at me, you know. It freaking hurts."

"I'm tired of hearing your stupidity."

"What'd you say!? You want to know how my fist tastes like then!?" Uzumaki-_san_ folds up his sleeve as if he's seriously going to hit him, but the wide grin on his face shows that he's not serious about it. He's just being dramatic.

Kiba then shouts, "Oi, you can hit him wherever it is but just not his face! It's The Falcons' precious asset, y'know!"

We all laugh hearing that—except for Sasuke who's just forming a small, barely-there smile.

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Both of my eyes just can't stop staring at my iPhone's screen. I can't count how many times have I zoomed in, then zoomed out, and then stared in silent at a photo that's been the focus of my attention since who knows how long.

My picture with all of the members of The Falcons.

Our fun conversations had to come to an end when The Falcon's manager, Yakushi Kabuto if I'm not mistaken, came to the green room and announced that it was time for The Falcons to go back to the hotel. It's because in the next early morning they have to be ready for a flight to Iwa to perform their second concert of the Golden Week Tour. Their schedule during this Golden Week is really packed. In a week, they have to do five cities with Konoha as the closing of the tour.

"After the Golden Week Tour, we'll have more free time in our schedule, especially before Sasuke starts his filming at the start of summer," Neji told me, "I was thinking to come and see Boruto in _hoikuen, _so I'd like to know if there will be some _hoikuen_ events before summer?"

"Oh, actually yes, there is. On the third week of May, _hoikuen _is going to hold a Parent's Day event. Aside from doing an open house, we usually do some picnic together in the school's yard and there is usually a voluntary performance by the neighboring junior high school's brass band club every year."

"Hm, interesting. And the timing's also perfect."

"I think it'd definitely be a chaos in the _hoikuen_ if Neji The Falcons actually came to the event," I commented without thinking, yet he only replied with a single smile.

Seemed like he's really going to come. It's crazy to think about it.

Before all of them left, I asked Uzumaki-_san_ so that I could take a picture with everyone in The Falcons. He gladly told Sasuke about it and asked for a permission. Fortunately for me, Sasuke didn't mind but only if it's for my own personal collection and not to be uploaded to the internet.

_Ugh_, even though I actually wanted to post it to my social medias and show off to everyone.

After that Uzumaki-_san_ sent both of us home with his car. I really felt like I owed him something big. After all, this is one of the best days in my entire life.

I open my _Line_ and sent some chats to Temari, showing off that picture at least to my best friend who is still far away in Suna. I bet she'll be jealous at the fact that I could take a picture with all members of The Falcons. Rare chances like this won't easily come for the second time after all. Not my fault if she couldn't have that chance because she had to go back to her hometown.

And I also remembered Sakura-_san_ who declined my invitation to go watch and meet The Falcons together. I'm definitely sending some chats to her as well.

_Yamanaka Ino: Sakura-san, it's too bad that you couldn't go.  
__Yamanaka Ino: Look who I took a picture with.  
Yamanaka Ino sent a photo._

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**To be continued**

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you like it so far. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Uzumaki Karin doesn't have a family relationship with Uzumaki Naruto even though they have the same surname. They don't know each other at all in this story. A complete stranger basically. Also to anon: yes, ytamano and I are the same person.


End file.
